So far in 2015, 965 people have been killed by U.S. police.

A disproportionate number of those people are black, Hispanic or Latino; almost all are male.

The causes of the deaths range from being shot by police to being hit by a police vehicle to dying — somehow — in police custody.

This tally of the dead was not provided, however, by the U.S. government or a public security agency. It was provided by The Guardian, a British newspaper that began a project, The Counted, in January to take stock of the people who are killed by police and what circumstances prompted the deaths.

No one in this country is keeping accurate track of when an officer kills a civilian. It’s as if, to the nation, these lives aren’t worthy of consideration or even record.

The FBI does ask police departments to provide reports on “justifiable homicides” by officers, but giving up the information is voluntary. From 2005 to 2012 only 1,100 of the nation’s 18,000 police agencies submitted such briefs to the FBI. And in 2013, the most recent data available, the FBI counted 461 justifiable homicides for the year. But a crowdsourced tally found an additional 300 deaths that year.

To sate protests against police violence and solve the mistrust between public safety and citizens, U.S. police need to be held to a higher level of public accountability. People need to see that justice is being served, or at the very least that it’s being pursued.

Until the U.S. takes on the responsibility to remember when someone is killed by a police officer, any attempt at reining in violence is lip service. Reporting to the FBI should be mandatory and thorough.

This doesn’t mean that any officer who shoots or otherwise kills someone while on duty is guilty of a crime. I would wager that’s rarely the case, though who can be sure without the data?

Massachusetts is fortunate in that there have been few deaths by police this year: 10, and only one of the people who died was unarmed. Massachusetts ranks 44 (the lower the number the better) among the 50 states and D.C. in the number of deaths by police per capita, according to The Counted. We are lucky in this state to have many good officers who understand how to practice restraint, even at the risk of making themselves vulnerable.

Taking a life — or having your life taken — is the solemn potential in any officer’s job, and sometimes the use of fatal force must be exercised to protect the public and the lives of the officers themselves. I don’t know how many of this year’s 965 deaths by police were justified — but it’s hard to believe that most of the 189 deaths of unarmed people due to police are “justifiable.” These, possibly more than any other death-by-police incident, need to be investigated while the public watches.

In an effort to keep the memory of the unarmed people who were killed by officers from being forgotten — because that seems to be the plan in the U.S. — here are the names of the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, friends, lovers, and coworkers who have died due to police action and/or while in police custody so far in 2015:

Unknown, 30s, gunshot, California, Oct. 27

Omar Lopez, 24, Taser, Pennsylvania, Oct. 26

Ryan Rodriguez, 21, gunshot, California, Oct. 21

Mario Perdigone, 36, Taser, Texas, Oct. 21

KennethSchick, 47, Taser, Kansas, Oct. 20

Unkown, 30, gunshot, California, Oct. 17

Paterson Brown Jr., 18, gunshot, Virginia, Oct. 17

Johnny Rangel, 25, gunshot, California, Oct. 16

Jonathan Pena, 27, struck by vehicle, California, Oct. 15

Unknown, 45, gunshot, California, Oct. 3

Robert Christen, 37, gunshot, Minnesota, Sept. 30

Junior Prosper, 31, gunshot, Florida, Sept. 28

Kylie Lindsey, 17, struck by vehicle, Georgia, Sept. 26

Isabella Chinchilla, 16, struck by vehicle, Georgia, Sept. 26

William Lemon, 21, gunshot, Ohio, Sept. 25

Ronny Bowling, 53, struck by vehicle, Indiana, Sept. 24

Keith McLeod, 19, gunshot, Maryland, Sept. 23

Omar Ali, 27, gunshot, Ohio, Spet. 21

Dominic Fuller, 24, gunshot, Florida, Sept. 21

Kimberly Bedford, 48, struck by vehicle, Michigan, Sept. 20

Nicholas Jonhson, 32, gunshot, California, Sept. 18

Cecil Lacy Jr., 50, death in custody, Washington, Sept. 18

Anthony Camacho, 19, struck by vehicle, California, Sept. 13

Jordn Miller, 24, Taser, Ohio, Sept. 8

Wayne Wheeler, 41, other, Michigan, Sept. 7

Richard Cosentino, 63, death in custody, Rhode Island, Sept. 6

Ben CdeBaca, 45, death in custody, New Mexico, Sept. 6

Manueal Ornelas, 47, Taser, California, Sept. 5

India Kager, 28, gunshot, Virginia, Sept. 5

Lucas Markus, 33, Taser, Pennsylvania, Sept. 4

James Carney III, 48, Taser, Ohio, Aug. 31

Felix Kumi, 61, gunshot, New York, Aug. 28

Michael Tyree, 31, death in custody, California, Aug. 27

Marc Kaplan, age unkown, Taser, Arizona, Aug. 21

Charles Hall, 30, gunshot, Maryland, Aug. 21

Richard Jacquez, 40, gunshot, California, Aug. 17

Oscar Ruiz, 44, Taser, California, Aug. 15

John Unsworth, 43, gunshot, Indiana, Aug. 15

Asshams Manley, 30, gunshot, Maryland, Aug. 14

Matthew Russo, 26, Taser, Connecticut, Aug. 7

Christian Taylor, 19, gunshot, Texas, Aug. 7

Troy Robinson, 33, Taser, Georgia, Aug. 6

Joseph Hutcheson, 48, death in custody, Texas, Aug. 1

Filimoni Raiyawa, 57, death in custody, California,

July 30

Wilmer Delgado-Soba, 38, Taser, Massachusetts,

July 29

Allan White, 23, gunshot, Tennessee, July 28

Zachary Hammond, 19, gunshot, South Carolina,

July 26

Derek Wolfsteller, 31, gunshot, Minnesota, July 23

James Bush, 20, struck by vehicle, Michigan, July 22

Heriberto Godinez Jr., 24, death in custody, Illinois,

July 20

Sameul DuBose, 43, gunshot, Ohio, July 19

Troy Goode, 30, death in custody, Mississippi, July 18

Estevan Gomez, 26, gunshot, California, July 18

Darrius Stewart, 19, gunshot, Tennessee, July 17

Albert Davis, 23, gunshot, Florida, July 17

Nyal Brown, 77, struck by vehicle, Ohio, July 13

Bruce Stafford, 55, death in custody, North

Carolina, July 13

Salvado Ellswood, 36, gunshot, Florida, July 12

George Mann, 53, Taser, Georgia, July 11

Jonathan Sanders, 29, death in custody, Mississippi,

July 8

Shane Gromley, 30, Taser, Utah, July 6

Neil Van DePutte, 25, struck by vehicle, New

Jersey, July 5

Johnny Ray Anderson, 43, gunshot, California, July 5

John Deming Jr., 19, gunshot, California, July 5

Christian Siqueiros, 25, death in custody, California,

July 3

William Jeffries, 57, death in custody, West Virginia,

July 1

Kevin Judson, 24, gunshot, Oregon, July 1

William McIntire, 60, struck by vehicle, Florida, June 28

Spencer McCain, 41, gunshot, Maryland, June 25

Joshua Dyer, 34, gunshot, Indiana, June 23

Allen Jernandez, 23, death in custody, Idaho, June 21

Kevin Bajoie, 32, Taser, Louisiana, June 20

Tamara Seidle, 51, gunshot, New Jersey, June 16

Jermaine Benjamin, 42, death in custody, Florida,

June 16

Kris Jackson, 22, gunshot, California, June 15

James Payne Jr., 51, struck by vehicle, Ohio, June 13

Alan Williams, 47, struck by vehicle, South

Carolina, June 13

David Munday, 50, death in custody, West Virginia,

June 12

Ryan Bolinger, 28, gunshot, Iowa, June 9

Jeremy Linhart, 30, gunshot, Ohio, June 19

Ross Anthony, 25, Taser, Texas, June 8

Donald Pinkerton-DeVito, 23, struck by vehicle,

California, June 5

Richard Davis, 50, Taser, New York, May 31

Curtis Jordan, 45, death in custody, Alabama, May 31

Ebin Proctor, 18, gunshot, Arizona, May 30

Billy Collins, 56, Taser, Kentucky, May 29

Randall Torrence, 34, Taser, Kansas, May 27

Feras Morad, 20, gunshot, California, May 27

Thomas Ramey, 64, struck by vehicle, Virginia, May 25

Barbara Ramey, 64, struck by vehicle, Virginia, May 25

Denis Reyes, 40, death in custody, New York, May 15

Lorenzo Hayes, 37, death in custody, Washington,

May 13

Alan Dunnagan, 68, struck by vehicle, North

Carolina, May 13

Michael Gallagher, 55, Taser, North Carolina, May 10

Sam Holmes, 31, gunshot, Minnesota, May 8

John Kaafi, 33, Taser, Florida, May 8

Nuwnah Laroche, 34, struck by vehicle, New Jersey,

May 6

Jason Champion, 41, struck by vehicle, New Jersey,

May 6

Brendon Glenn, 29, gunshot, California, May 6

Shawn Watashe, 55, struck by vehicle, Oklahoma,

May 5

Fridoon Rawshannehad, 42, gunshot, California,

April 30

Bryan Overstreet, 30, struck by vehicle, Georgia,

April 28

Dean Genova, 45, gunshot, California, April 26

Billy Patrick, 29, gunshot, Oklahoma, April 26

David Felix, 24, gunshot, New York, April 25

Hector Morejon, 19, gunshot, California, April 23

William Chapman II, 18, gunshot, Virginia, April 22

Jose Jerrera, 27, gunshot, California, April 22

Steven Davenport, 43, Taser, Mississippi, April 21

Samuel Harrell, 30, death in custody, New York,

April 21

David Dehmann, 33, death in custody, Ohio, April 21

Danial Covarrubias, 37, gunshot, Washington,

April 21

Norman Cooper, 33, Taser, Texas, April 19

David Kapuscinski, 39, Taser, Michigan, April 16

Darrell Brown, 31, Taser, Maryland, April 16

Joseph Slater, 28, death in custody, California, April 15

Frank “Trey” Shephard III, 41, gunshot, Texas,

April 15

Freddie Gray, 25, death in custody, Maryland, April 12

Michael Lemon, 57, Taser, California, April 8

Keaton Farris, 25, death in custody, Washington,

April 8

Richard Hanna, 56, gunshot, California, April 6

Jared Forsyth, 33, gunshot, Florida, April 6

William Dick III, 28, Taser, Washington, April 4

Walter Scott, 50, gunshot, South Carolina, April 4

David Lynch, 33, Taser, Oklahoma, April 3

Eric Harris, 44, gunshot, Oklahoma, April 2

Donald “Dontay” Ivy, 39, Taser, New York, April 2

Phillip White, 32, death in custody, New Jersey,

March 31

Gregory Smith, 39, Taser, Indiana, March 30

Dominick Wise, 30, Taser, Virginia, March 30

Mychael Lynch, 32, death in custody, Washington,

March 23

Jeffrey Jackson, 47, death in custody, Kentucky,

March 22

James Moore, 43, struck by vehicle, Oklahoma,

March 22

Denzel Brown, 21, gunshot, New York, March 22

Brandon Jones, 18, gunshot, Ohio, March 19

Adam Jovicic, 29, gunshot, Ohio, March 19

Roberto Leon, 22, gunshot, California, March 17

David Watford, 47, struck by vehicle, Louisiana,

March 17

Askari Roberts, 35, Taser, Georgia, March 17

Sheldon Haleck, 38, Taser, Hawaii, March 16

David Werblow, 41, Taser, Connecticut, March 15

Salome Rodriguez Jr, 23, gunshot, California,

March 13

Jonathan Paul, 42, death in custody, Texas, March 12

Antonio Perez, 32, gunshot, California,

March 12

Terrance Moxley, 29, Taser, Ohio, March 10

Hue Dang, 64, struck by vehicle, New Jersey,

March 9

Anthony Hill, 27, gunshot, Georgia, March 9

Michael McKillop, 35, gunshot, Delaware,

March 8

Tony Ross, 34, Taser, Texas, March 6

Tony Robinson, 19, gunshot, Wisconsin, ‘

March 6

Naeschylus Vinzant, 37, gunshot, Colorado,

March 6

Bernard Moore, 62, struck by vehicle, Georgia,

March 6

Sergio Navas, 34, gunshot, California, March 5

Derek Cruice, 26, gunshot, Florida, March 4

Jennifer Lobato, 37, death in custody, Colorado,

March 2

Thomas Allen Jr. , 24, gunshot, Missouri, March 1

Jeffrey Surnow, 63, struck by vehicle, Hawaii, March 1

Darrell “Hubbard” Gatewood, 47, Taser, Oklahoma,

March 1

Charly “Africa” Keunang, 43, gunshot, California,

March 1

Deven Guilford, 17, gunshot, Michigan, Feb. 28

Russell Sharrer 54, death in custody, Washington,

Feb. 27

Ernesto Javier Canepa Diaz, 27, gunshot, California,

Feb. 27

Alexander Long, 31, gunshot, Indiana, Feb. 25

Daniel Elrod, 39, gunshot, Nebraska, Feb. 24

Calvon Reid, 39, Taser, Florida, Feb. 22

Terry Price, 41, Taser, Oklahoma, Feb. 21

Ruben Garcia Villalpando, 31, gunshot, Texas,

Feb. 20

Michael Ireland, 31, gunshot, Missouri, Feb. 17

Chance Thompson, 35, Taser, California, Feb. 15

Dean Bucheit, 64, struck by vehicle, California,

Feb. 9

Natasha McKenna, 37, Taser, Virginia, Feb. 8

Wilber Castillo-Gongora, 35, Taser, Texas, Feb. 5

Jeremy Lett, 28, gunshot, Florida, Feb. 5

Joaquin Hernandez, 28, gunshot, Arizona, Feb. 4

David Kassick, 59, gunshot, Pennsylvania, Feb. 2

Ralph Willis, 42, gunshot, Oklahoma, Jan. 29

Larry Kobuk, 33, death in custody, Alaska, Jan. 28

Joshua Garcia, 24, gunshot, Texas, Jan. 26

Jessica Hernandez, 17, gunshot, Colorado, Jan. 26

Alvin Haynes, 57, death in custody, California, Jan. 26

Howard Robbins, 69, struck by vehicle, Kentucky,

Jan. 16

Louis Becker, 87, struck by vehicle, New York, Jan. 14

Artago Howard, 36, gunshot, Arkansas, Jan. 8

Andre Murphy Sr., 42, death in custody, Nebraska,

Jan. 7

Biran Pickett, 26, Taser, California, Jan. 6

Autumn Steele, 34, gunshot, Iowa, Jan. 6

Michael Kocher Jr., 19, struck by vehicle, Jan. 3

John Quintero, 23, gunshot, Kansas, Jan. 3

Matthew Ajibade, 22, death in custody, Georgia,

Jan. 1•

Kristin Palpini can be contacted at editor@valleyadvocate.com.

SOURCE: The Counted by The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/thecounted